National Security Archive Update, May 7, 2008

Archive Featured in Fox News Expose on FBI Files

FBI Official Claims Innocent Mistake in Answering "No Records" on Al Qaeda; But FBI Sent "No Records" Response a Second Time Answering Archive's Appeal

http://www.nsarchive.org

For more information contact:
Meredith Fuchs - 202/994-7000

Washington, D.C., May 7, 2008 - The National Security Archive's Meredith Fuchs was featured May 5 in a Fox-5 News (WTTG) expose about the FBI's mismanaged secrets.

"The Fox News report would make anyone concerned about how well the FBI finds its own information for use in its investigations," commented Meredith Fuchs. "In addition, their failure to protect historically valuable records by transferring them to the National Archives may result in the loss or destruction of documentation that chronicles the Bureau's role investigating crime throughout the latter part of the 20th century."

Part One of the two-part report reveals the FBI's failure to transfer its historically valuable records to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) despite a consent decree entered by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia over 20 years ago mandating that the FBI transfer its records so that they will be preserved.

Part Two of the report reveals the inadequacies of the FBI's recordkeeping system, which results in 60-70% of Freedom of Information Act requests being denied because the FBI cannot find the requested records. In particular, the National Security Archive provided an example of a request for records on "Al Qaeda" that was denied because the Bureau had "no records." According to the FBI's representative in the Fox News report, that response was a mistake because the FBI staff sent the wrong letter. The Archive's records show, however, that the denial was administratively appealed to the Department of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy, which ordered the FBI to conduct a new search. The second search also was denied because there still were "no records" found on Al Qaeda.

Visit the Web site of the National Security Archive for more information about today's posting.

http://www.nsarchive.org

THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.

CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News-May 2, 2008

Heparin Contamination May Have Been Deliberate, F.D.A. [Food & Drug Administration] Says
“Federal drug regulators believe that a contaminant detected in a crucial blood thinner that has caused 81 deaths was added deliberately, something the Food and Drug Administration has only hinted at previously.[Marker] ‘F.D.A.’s working hypothesis is that this was intentional contamination, but this is not yet proven,’ Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug center, told the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in written testimony given Tuesday.” (New York Times; 30Apr08; Gardiner Harris).
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/health/policy/30heparin.html?em&ex=1209700800&en=2c7f1b380ee3057e&ei=5087%0A

Researchers determine drug target for the most potent botulinum neurotoxin
“Although experimental vaccines administered prior to exposure can inhibit the destructive action of this neurotoxin - the most deadly protein known to humans - no effective pharmacological treatment exists. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) have taken the first step toward designing an effective antidote to the most potent form of the toxin. They have found that they can trick the toxin to bypass its normal binding protein, thereby blocking its deadly action.” (Science Centric; 01May08).
http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/08050129.htm

Attomolar Detection of Botulinum Toxin Type A in Complex Biological Matrices
“A highly sensitive, rapid and cost efficient method that can detect active botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) in complex biological samples such as foods or serum is desired in order to 1) counter the potential bioterrorist threat 2) enhance food safety 3) enable future pharmacokinetic studies in medical applications that utilize BoNTs. […] The sensitivity, specificity, speed and simplicity of the BoNT ALISSA should make this method attractive for diagnostic, biodefense and pharmacological applications. […] The BoNT/A ALISSA is an inexpensive, simple and robust procedure that ensures high analytical specificity and attomolar sensitivity for the detection of BoNT/A in complex biological samples.” (Plos One; 30Apr08; Karine Bagramyan, Jason R. Barash, Stephen S. Arnon, Markus Kalkum).
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0002041

California Senate committee confirms first public health director
“A legislative panel Wednesday unanimously confirmed the nomination of Dr.Mark Horton as the first director of the California Department of Public Health, despite concerns about the department's capability. […] Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, expressed concern about the department's lagging disbursement to counties of federal Homeland Security funds for hospital and bioterrorism preparedness. During the past fiscal year, the department has passed out $210 million of the $370 million at its disposal. Horton said roughly one-third of the counties have not received money because they have not submitted plans detailing how they will spend it.” (Sacramento Bee; 01May08; Aurelio Rojas).
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/904018.html

Toward a 21st-century intelligence enterprise
“The globalization of technology is expanding opportunities for how, where and by whom chemical, biological and nuclear weapons can be acquired or produced. […] No single intelligence agency can deal successfully with an issue that involves complex dual-use technologies, carefully hidden secrets and worldwide sources of supply and transport. Keeping terrorists from acquiring WMD requires U.S. intelligence agencies to excel at rapidly linking collection, analysis and action […].” (Belleville News-Democrat; 01May08; Kenneth C. Brill).
http://www.bnd.com/285/story/327168.html

Govt approves setting up of National Police University [India]
“Government today agreed in principle to establish a National Police University […] The university is likely to offer graduates, post graduates and PhD courses to civilians and serving police officer in a range of subjects including biological warfare, criminal psychology, public relations, human rights, insurgency and communal tensions.” (Press Trust of India; 01May08).
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/E6F5199AA22A73EB6525743C005D12AB?OpenDocument

Researchers design ‘smart bomb’ to fight infections
“The technology can create new treatments for influenza and other communicable diseases, even anthrax and small pox […] researchers have isolated antibody-secreting cells, or plasma cells, from people vaccinated for influenza, and then cloned antibody genes from these cells. […] said Patrick Wilson of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. ‘It is a rapid and efficient way to make fully human antibodies.’ […] Findings of the study have been published in the online publication of the journal Nature.”(Thai-Indian News; 01May08).
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/researchers-design-smart-bomb-to-fight-infections_10043869.html

I-Team: First Responders Get Radioactive Ready [Nevada]
“Since 9/11, the Nevada Test Site has hosted thousands of first responders to teach them the basics of radiation. One of the very first goals is to overcome an emotion that is nearly synonymous with the term nuclear -- fear. […] The National Nuclear Security Administration runs the program with a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. […] By the time this group leaves here after a full week of classroom and field experience, they are expected to return to their hometowns with knowledge gathered through a half a century of nuclear experience at the test site. The program costs taxpayers about $30 million each year...” (Las Vegas Now; 01May08; Mark Sayre).
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=8253378

Workshop on nuclear terrorism ends
“The regional workshop on Suppression of Nuclear Terrorism organized by the National Committee for Combating Drugs, in conjunction with United Nations' Middle East and South Africa regional office for drugs and crime, concluded at Sharq Hotel on Wednesday, with the participants underlining the threat posed to development by terrorism. […] The participants aired their worry on the increasing threat of the spread of nuclear weapons and possession of chemical, biological and nuclear materials by non-member countries of the UN.” (The Peninsula; 02May08).
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=May2008&file=Local_News2008050224542.xml

A Brave New~World?: President Mikhail Gorbachev on the nuclear age and Russia’s future
“Where do you see the primary threat of nuclear terrorism coming from? […] I think that when we talk about the threat of nuclear terrorism today, we should talk about it in preventive terms. We should prevent that threat from emerging. And it could become more real, if we have the proliferation of nuclear weapons.” (Harvard Political Review; 30Apr08; Nicholas Tatsis interview with Mikhail Gorbachev).
http://hprsite.squarespace.com/a-brave-new-world-042008/2008/5/1/a-brave-new-world.html

Memorial for Porton Down victims
“Victims of experiments at the Porton Down research centre have been honoured during a service at Staffordshire's National Memorial Arboretum. A plaque and a tree have been unveiled at the arboretum, in Alrewas, in recognition of Cold War veterans. […] It ended a long-running legal dispute between the government and the servicemen. […] The history of the [sarin] tests was highlighted during an inquest into the death of Ronald Maddison, a 20-year-old aircraftsman from County Durham. In 1953, he volunteered to take part in what he believed to be a trial for a cold cure, but died within an hour of having sarin dabbed on his arm.” (BBC News; 01May08).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/staffordshire/7377946.stm

U.S. terror report mentions witness intimidation in Kosovo
“Serbia cooperated with the U.S. on a wide range of terrorism issues, a report says. The United States State Department Country Reports on Terrorism released yesterday, also says that although Serbia joined the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, the bilateral Weapons of Mass Destruction Agreement, signed in 2006, has not yet been ratified. ‘Failure of the Serbian Parliament to ratify the agreement prohibited the duty free import and donation of equipment that could be used to counter terrorism,’ the document says.” (B92, Serbia; 01May08).
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=05&dd=01&nav_id=49883

Outrage Rises at U.N. Over Libya’s Disruptive Presence On Security Council: Israeli Envoy: This Is What Happens When ‘Terrorists’ Given Council Seat
“Following secret negotiations with the United States and Britain, Libya agreed in 2003 to halt its nuclear and chemical weapons programs and to compensate victims of terrorist attacks, prompting a lifting of U.N. and American sanctions and, in 2006, Libya’s removal from America’s list of terrorist sponsors. […] ‘This is what happens when the Security Council is infiltrated by terrorists,’ [Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Dan Gillerman] declared at the time, to which [Libya’s ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi] retorted, ‘We don’t need a certificate of good conduct from the Israeli terrorist regime or its representative here.’” (The Jewish Daily Forward; 01May08; Marc Perelman).
http://www.forward.com/articles/13295/

Iran Is Most Significant State Sponsor of Terrorism, Report Says
“And also worrisome is that some of these countries that provide aid to terrorist groups also have the capability to make nuclear, biological and chemical weapons that could easily get into the hands of terrorists, the annual report says.” (NewsBlaze; 01May08; Merle D. Kellerhals).
http://newsblaze.com/story/20080501115150tsop.nb/newsblaze/WORLDNEW/World-News.html


CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.

Navy Contract Ship Fires Warning Shots Near Suez Canal

American Forces Press Service

March 25, 2008 - A ship on short-term charter to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command fired warning shots at a small boat approaching the ship as it was preparing to transit the Suez Canal last night, military officials reported. There were no reports of casualties from the ship, the Global Patriot.

Officials said several boats approached the Global Patriot while it was preparing to transit the Suez Canal. The boats were hailed and warned by a native Arabic speaker on the Global Patriot to advise them to turn away. Other warning steps, including a signal flare, were used to caution the boats.

One small boat continued to approach the ship and received two sets of warning shots 20 to 30 meters in front of the boat's bow. All shots were accounted for as they entered the water, officials said.

The incident is under investigations. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet command is cooperating with Egyptian authorities, including the Suez Canal Authorities, through the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

(From a U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet news release.)

Iraqi Hospital Chief Detained in Bombing Investigation

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 13, 2008 - A psychiatric hospital administrator in Iraq suspected of supplying mentally impaired women for al Qaeda terror missions was detained Feb. 10. The acting director of the Al Rashad psychiatric hospital of Baghdad is in coalition forces custody, and his office was searched to see what role he may have played in supplying al Qaeda with information about patients at the hospital or from other medical facilities in the Baghdad area, said Navy Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, director of Multinational Force Iraq's Communication Division.

On Feb. 1, two women were part of separate suicide bombings in crowded Baghdad pet markets that killed nearly 100 people. Detaining the administrator and the subsequent search are part of an investigation into the bombing. Smith said last week that the two teenage women involved most likely unwittingly carried the explosives into the markets and that both were mentally handicapped.

Smith did not name the administrator and did not share any more details about the case, citing the ongoing investigations. He made the announcement in an update briefing on operations.

"Although al Qaeda has been disrupted by the collective efforts of Iraqi and coalition security forces and citizen volunteers, the terrorists still constitute a deadly threat to the people of Iraq by murdering innocent civilians and in the destruction of essential services and infrastructure," Smith said.

In other news in Iraq, the six-week-long countrywide offensive Operation Phantom Phoenix has yielded high payoffs for the coalition and Iraqi forces, the admiral said.

Since Operation Phantom Phoenix's start, forces have detained 1,825 terrorists and killed 241 others, destroyed 933 munitions stockpiles, and found and cleared 935 homemade bombs.

At the same time that coalition and Iraq forces are pressing the offensive, former detainees are being given an opportunity to return to Iraqi society. Before being allowed to go free, the detainees complete education, training and screening, and they swear oaths of loyalty to Iraq, Smith said.

Yesterday, 300 detainees were released in a ceremony in Baghdad. So far this year, 1,617 have been released. Last year, nearly 9,000 detainees were released through this program, he said. They are given the opportunity to participate in basic education courses, vocational training and family advocacy programs, Smith said.